Otolith Morphology and Body Size Relationships for Selected Fishes in Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

2 Department of Marine Sciences, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

The morphology of the sacular otolith (sagitta) was studied by means of image analysis of 28 extant
species from Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez. The shape, margins and rostrum of sagittal otoliths for all
species were analyzed. No difference was detected between left and right otolith length for any of the
otolith pairs (paired t-tests, all p > 0.20). The largest otolith was recorded in Morone saxatilis and
Argyrosomus regius; while the smallest otolith was recorded in Myripristis botche. ◌ِAlso, otolith weight
or mass was varying between studied fishes, where the heaviest otolith was recorded in Plectropomus
leopardus. Morphological characteristics of fish otoliths were highly variable between species, ranging
from the relatively simple disc shape (Terapon puta, Terapontidae) to the irregular shape in Myripristis
botche (Holocentridae). The shapes of the otolith of studied species were varying from oblong, ovate,
fusiform, elliptic, rhomboidal and triangular. The margin sculpturing of these otoliths have four
characters: irregular, lobed, entire and dentate. The relationships between otolith and fish size which
examined by plotting the value of the otolith length and weight against the length and weight for each
fish.

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